This One Won't Be Blue
by writetherest
Summary: Emma shrugged at him, trying to keep her voice gentle. "When you have no one to celebrate with, there's not a lot of use in celebrating." Henry pulled the last of the boxes out from where it had been tucked away and then chewed on his lip for a few moments before he finally found his voice. "Hey, Emma? I've got an idea."


**Author's Notes:** Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it!

Title, as well as a general feel and some inspiration for the ending, taken from Kenny Chesney's You're The Angel (At The Top Of My Tree).

Thanks as always to The Mafia - fictorium, adventurepants, and chillyflame. Their encouragement and beta skills are second to none.

**WARNING:** Here there be copious amount of fluff with dashes of angst and all of the Christmas feels.

* * *

"Oww! Shi – shoot." Emma hissed as she once again jammed herself in the finger with a needle.

Henry, for his part, tried – and failed – to stifle his giggles, which caused Emma to toss some of the popcorn that she was supposed to be stringing at him instead. He plucked a few pieces off his clothes and tossed them into his mouth, crunching them with a smile.

Emma smiled back, although it faded quickly when she took in the sight of the still bare – and incredibly Charlie Brown-ish – Christmas tree in the corner. "This really sucks, doesn't it?" She sighed, putting down the needle and thread that she'd only managed to get a few kernels on.

"No! It's great!" Henry was quick to reply, but even without her sometimes faulty lie detecting skills, Emma knew he didn't mean what he was saying.

"Henry."

"It's just… different, that's all."

Emma sighed. She'd wanted so much to be able to do this – to celebrate Christmas Eve with her son. She'd sent Snow back to Charming's, insisting that she could handle this on her own, but it was painfully obvious that she couldn't. Although he was trying to be enthusiastic as ever, it was obvious that not only was Henry not having a good time, but that he was missing his mother and their Christmas traditions too.

Brushing more popcorn onto the floor, Emma stood up suddenly with a determined look on her face. "Hey, Henry? I've got an idea."

* * *

Regina was used to feeling alone. She was used to feeling like a prisoner. For nearly her entire marriage to Leopold, she'd been trapped within the castle walls, never having a sense of belonging, always alone and unloved.

But somehow, being alone in her house on Christmas Eve felt like more of a prison than the castle ever had because she knew what was missing. She could remember what previous Christmases had been like, could still see the joy etched on Henry's face, hear his childish giggles echoing through the halls. He had loved Christmas and so had she in turn. But now with him gone, spending the holiday with his real mother as he had always wanted, she felt the hatred for the holiday grow within her.

The ringing of her doorbell did nothing to stem the flow of her anger, instead causing it to burn even brighter within her. Whoever was ringing her bell would be sorry.

She stalked across the foyer, grabbing the door and ripping it open, her mouth open, ready to spill vitriol at whoever was revealed, only to be shocked into silence as she took in the forms on the other side.

"Hi, Mom." Henry smiled up at her.

"H-Henry." She gasped, caught off guard not only by her son's appearance on her doorstep, but by his calling her 'mom'. "What – what are you doing here?"

Emma scuffed her boot on the ground for a moment before she answered the question. "Uh, turns out I'm not the greatest when it comes to decorating a Christmas tree."

"Why does that not surprise me?" Regina found herself saying before she could stop.

But Emma just continued on as though Regina hadn't spoken. "And Henry thought maybe your halls could use a little decking. So… surprise?"

"It's okay, right?" Henry asked, even as he slipped inside the house.

"Yes." Regina agreed quickly. Anything that got her son into her house was alright by her, even if it included Emma. "Yes, of course, it's okay. But I… don't exactly have any of the decorations up."

Emma took in the stark walls and found that for some reason the mansion seemed even more impersonal and cold than it ever had before. She knew what it had looked like last Christmas – all the decorations perfect and obviously professionally done, like something right out of a magazine – and now to see it so empty of any kind of festiveness made her frown. "Yeah, well, that's what we're here for, right, kid?"

"Right." Henry grinned.

"Okay, so, you go with your mom and start digging out decorations. I'll get some things going down here and then I'll help carry the boxes too."

"Okay, Emma." Henry nodded, then reached forward and grabbed Regina's hand. "C'mon, Mom."

Regina followed along behind him, dumbfounded.

* * *

Emma had a fire going in the fireplace in the living room and Christmas music playing from the stereo by the time they came back down from the attic, each carrying a box.

"There's not a whole lot of decorations up there." Henry informed her as he sat down his box. "Mom usually hires people to come and do a lot of the decorating and they always bring and take everything with them. But we did find some stuff… including an artificial tree that's better than yours."

Emma saw the way Regina's mouth twitched up at Henry's statement about her tree. Normally the reaction would have sparked a fight between them, but tonight Emma couldn't help but think that it was nice to see Regina happy, even if it was over something as petty as whose fake Christmas tree was better.

"Cool. I'll help you get the rest. Regina, maybe you can start looking through these boxes a while and seeing what all we have to work with?"

She waited for the blow up that was sure to come about her thinking she could waltz in and take control of Regina's household, but once again the former mayor surprised her by merely nodding and opening the lid on the first box.

* * *

"It's different here this year, too." Henry admitted once they were in the attic. "All the decorations and stuff not being up… Mom always has them up."

"Well," Emma said softly as she pulled out a few more boxes, "maybe she figured there wasn't a lot to celebrate this year so…"

"Because of me not being here?" Henry asked with a frown. He hadn't really thought about that. In fact, since Emma and Snow had returned through the portal, he hadn't thought about her much at all. He'd been too wrapped up in reuniting with his mother and grandmother to think about what his adoptive mother was doing, all alone in the big, empty mansion that used to be his home. Suddenly, he felt ashamed of himself.

Emma shrugged at him, trying to keep her voice gentle. "When you have no one to celebrate with, there's not a lot of use in celebrating."

Henry pulled the last of the boxes out from where it had been tucked away and then chewed on his lip for a few moments before he finally found his voice. "Hey, Emma? I've got an idea."

* * *

When they made it back down stairs, the smell of food cooking was wafting through the house and both their stomachs began to rumble.

"Wow. That smells amazing."

Henry's face lit up. "Mom makes the best Christmas dinner!"

"Well," Regina said as she reentered the room, smoothing down an apron, but looking as flawless as ever, "I'm not sure about that, although it's probably safe to say that my meal will be better than whatever Miss Swan was preparing for you."

"Hey!" Emma tried to sound offended, but it fell far short of that. This was normal – or at least as normal as it got between them – this she could handle. "Don't knock popcorn for dinner until you've tried it."

"Popcorn? Really, Miss Swan? That's what you feed my son for Christmas dinner?"

"Christmas Eve dinner." Emma protested as she turned back to the boxes. She didn't want to fight with Regina tonight – no matter how much her natural instincts said differently – and she also didn't want a reminder of what a sucky mother she was turning out to be.

"We weren't really eating the popcorn for dinner," Henry was quick to defend, "we were trying to string it for on the tree."

"Oh? How rustic." Regina smirked.

"Emma wasn't very good at stringing it, though." Henry giggled and Regina's own laughter soon joined in. Emma couldn't help but note how pretty it sounded, even as she set down a box a little harder than she needed to.

"Miss Swan, do be careful!" Regina hissed as she moved over to scoop up the box as though there were precious cargo inside.

"Sorry." Emma grumbled as she rolled her eyes. "What've you got in there, anyway? Your Faberge ornament collection?"

"No." Regina replied, cradling the box to her chest. "Something far more precious – and priceless – than that."

"Moooom," Henry drew the word out in a whiny, annoyed way that Emma had heard used on her many times before. She imagined that Regina had heard it even more, if the slight eye roll while still smiling at Henry was any indication.

"It's the truth, Henry." She said and Emma's stomach flipped at the way in which she said it – she'd never heard the woman sound more sincere.

"Okay, I give. What's in the box?"

"Put up the tree, Miss Swan, and then you'll see." Regina smirked at her, even as a timer went off in the kitchen. "I'll just go check on dinner while you do that."

Emma wanted to toss a snarky comment about trusting issues at her as she left, box still clutched in her hands, but bit it back instead. Peace on earth, goodwill to men – and women who are the adoptive mothers of your child, even if they're also evil queens, she told herself.

She turned to the box that contained the artificial tree. "Alright, let's get this thing set up."

It was more of a struggle than it should've been – and Emma was glad that Regina wasn't in the room to witness the spectacle – but they finally managed to get the tree up and fluffed out. Henry had been right – it was better than her Charlie Brown tree. It was tall and gorgeous, even after being smashed in a box for a year. It was like the Rolls Royce of artificial Christmas trees, which really came as no surprise seeing as how it belonged to Regina Mills.

"We usually have more than one tree," Henry explained as he carefully dragged the tree to stand by the fireplace, "but this one is always here by the fireplace. It's our real Christmas tree."

"And the others?"

"For decoration. The decorators put all the stuff on them. But this is the one that Mom and I decorate together."

Even though he tried to seem nonchalant about it, Emma could tell that Henry really enjoyed decorating the tree with Regina. She smiled to let him know that it was okay. He was still trying to navigate his relationship with Regina – as they all were – and Emma was determined to help him in whatever way he needed. She wouldn't speak against Regina, as her mother and so many others in town usually did, to Henry. Regina had been his mother for ten years and no matter what else she'd done, she had loved and cared for him in the best way she knew how. Emma could only be thankful for that.

"Well then, I'll go get her from the kitchen so that you can get decorating."

"Hey, Emma?" Henry called, stopping her before she could leave the room. "You don't think that she…"

"Don't think that she what?"

"Well, I mean…" Henry frowned as though he didn't know how to put his question into words. "It takes a while to cook a turkey, right?"

Emma blinked, surprised. "Yeah. I mean, I guess. Never actually done it myself, but… I'd assume so."

Henry's eyes darted to the hallway leading to the kitchen. "We were only up in the attic for a little while, right? But when we came down… Do you think she used magic?"

"Oh. Well…" Emma's eyes widened a bit in surprise. She hadn't really considered that Regina might be using her magic, even though she'd spent time in a world where magic had been prevalent. It was still a lot to wrap her brain around and just the idea of the Evil Queen using magic to make Christmas dinner for her son seemed so far out of the realm of possibility. "I don't know, Henry. I mean, I suppose she could've."

Henry frowned. "She promised me she wouldn't. She said she wasn't using magic."

"Hey," Emma moved forward, putting her hand on his shoulder, "listen, there's a big difference between using magic to make dinner a little faster and using it for evil purposes, okay? But I'll talk to her. I'll find out if she used magic or not. While I do that, why don't you start putting up some garland or something, okay?"

"Okay." Henry nodded, but his frown was still in place as he watched Emma leave.

* * *

Emma stopped short in the kitchen doorway as she took in the sight of Regina, bent over the oven and doing something to the turkey. She tried to look away, to move, speak, blink, anything, but found that she was frozen, her eyes glued to the image Regina presented.

"See something you like, Miss Swan?" Regina's voice was velvet and Emma jumped.

"Oh, uh, the uh, the t-turkey - the turkey looks good." Emma fumbled, her cheeks burning.

"Yes, it does, doesn't it?" Regina purred.

Emma blinked rapidly and took in the rest of the kitchen, trying to look anywhere but at Regina. There were various pots on the stove, all with delicious aromas coming from them. It sure seemed like it would take a lot of work to make all this happen.

"Was there something you needed, Miss Swan?" Regina asked after shutting the oven door, moving into Emma's personal space.

"Yes." Emma nearly moaned, then quickly shook herself. "Uh, yes. The tree is up."

"Splendid." Regina smiled, stepping away from her and toward the counter where the box she'd brought with her resided. "The turkey still needs more time to finish cooking, so we can decorate the tree while we wait."

"Yeah, uh, about that." Emma rubbed the back of her neck, trying to figure out the best way to bring up the possibility of Regina using magic without Regina actually using magic on her. "Henry was wondering… I mean… how long have you…"

"Do spit it out, Miss Swan."

"Did you use magic to do all this?" Emma blurted, tossing her hands in the general vicinity of the stove.

Regina looked like she'd been slapped for a moment before her mask came crashing down. "Just because you may be a terrible cook does not mean that everyone else is, nor that they all need magic to help them prepare a simple meal!"

"Whoa." Emma held up her hands. "First of all, you and I both know that this isn't a simple meal. And second of all, it just seemed strange to Henry – and to me – that in the time we were up in the attic that dinner suddenly got cooking…"

"Dinner did not 'suddenly get cooking' while you were up in the attic," Regina hissed, "although I did come to check on it and left the kitchen door open, which is why you probably smelled it when you came down. As you said, meals like this take time to prepare, and this one has been cooking since this morning."

Emma's brow furrowed. "Since this morning? But…"

Regina looked away. "Henry and I always eat Christmas Eve dinner at five o'clock. I have to start it early for it to be ready in time." She glanced up at Emma then and she could see the slight sheen to her eyes. "It's his favorite."

Oh. Shit.

"Regina –" she said, but didn't know how to finish the thought. What do you say to a woman who was preparing a meal for a son who she believed hated her and wouldn't show up, just because it was his favorite?

"Henry made me promise that I wouldn't use magic and I haven't. Not since…" Her voice trailed off, choked, and Emma's heart clenched in sympathy.

Her father – Charming – David had told her what had happened at the stables, although he'd spoken of the incident as though he was speaking about the weather and not as though it had been a profound event for Regina, something that had made Emma's blood boil at the time and still did now, seeing the pain etched across her face. She didn't know all the details, just that Regina's dead fiancé had been brought back from the dead as a monster who had tried to attack Henry and that Regina had dealt with him somehow, but that was enough to connect the dots. It made her feel sick to her stomach just thinking about what Regina had to have gone through that day.

She reached out and squeezed Regina's arm before she was even aware of what she was doing. "I'm sorry, Regina. Truly."

Regina just looked away and shrugged off her touch.

"How are you?" She tried, understanding firsthand how difficult it was to battle an addiction, although she was pretty sure admitting that wouldn't score her any points with Regina.

Regina's laugh was bitter. "How am I? I can't use my magic, I'm stuck in this god forsaken house, the entire town wants me dead, my son h-hates me, and I had to k-kill the only person who ever t-truly loved me." She spit the words out. "But it's what I _deserve_. So I'm just fine, Miss Swan."

Emma blinked. "Regina –"

"Why did you come here? Why did you bring him here?" Regina cut her off.

"Because I know what it's like to spend Christmas alone, without any family around. I know what it's like to feel abandoned and unloved while everyone else in the entire world seems happy. And no one deserves that. No one."

Emma turned then and left the kitchen without another word.

* * *

"Emma!" Henry exclaimed when she walked about into the dining room. There was garland wrapped around him and Emma couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face at the sight of him.

"Kid, the object was to decorate the house, not yourself." She laughed, tugging the garland free from him.

"I did the fireplace already, see?" He pointed out the garland as well as candles and other festive decorations he'd put on the mantle.

"Not bad." She smiled as she ruffled his hair.

"So?" He asked anxiously.

"The only magic in that kitchen is your mom's cooking skills, Henry."

"Really?"

"Really. She made a promise to you, kid. And she wouldn't break that. Not for anything."

Henry's face lit up at that. "Cool."

"Yeah. Cool." Emma nodded, then turned her attention to the stereo. "Oh, this is a good one!" She turned up the volume and began to sing along to the pop-y Christmas song, even as Henry wrinkled his nose and let out a laugh.

"Emma, stop!"

"No way." She winked, grabbing his hand and twirling him around in a circle. Despite his protests, Henry soon joined in dancing and singing with her.

From the doorway, Regina watched.

* * *

"Well," Regina moved into the room when the song had ended, "if you've finished with your song and dance, we can decorate the tree now."

Emma blushed a little, but Henry raced over, still sporting his large grin. "Awesome! Emma can help us, right Mom?"

"Uh, actually, Henry, I think I'll just work on putting up some more of these other decorations and you guys can –" Emma started, knowing that this was a special tradition between Regina and Henry and not wanting to butt in.

"Nonsense." Regina's tone left no room for argument, which surprised Emma. She figured that Regina would want her as far away from any traditions she shared with Henry as possible. "You're the one that wanted to see what was in the box, after all."

Henry rolled his eyes in a way that was pure Regina. "It's kinda dumb."

"Henry!" Regina scolded. "It is in no way dumb."

Now Emma's curiosity was piqued and she reached over to take the box from Regina, lifting the lid and then pausing for a moment to catch her breath when the contents were revealed.

"Oh. Wow." Her fingers slipped into the box, carefully caressing the ornaments that lay nestled inside. She pulled out one that was inscribed with the words 'Baby's First Christmas' and showed a picture of a tiny baby Henry snuggled against Regina's chest, with him wearing nothing but a red bow. It was a gorgeous shot and Emma found her breath taken away by it.

"Henry," she whispered as she took in another ornament that contained a picture of a slightly older Henry wearing a tiny Santa hat, "your mom was right. These are priceless."

Henry rolled his eyes, picking up the lights to string on the tree. "You guys are so weird." He mumbled as he set about weaving the strands through the branches.

Emma was too enthralled by the ornaments – and Regina by Emma's reaction to them – to pay him any mind. She pulled out all the photo ornaments – one for every year that he'd celebrated Christmas with Regina – watching as he grew up before her very eyes. When she came across the one that said 'All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth' and showed a toothless Henry smiling widely for the camera she had to turn her head for a moment to hide the tears that managed to slip down her cheeks without her permission.

"This is my favorite," Regina said softly, holding up an ornament shaped like a Christmas present that held a picture of Henry peeking out of a large gift wrapped box so that only his eyes, twinkling with laughter, could be seen. "He was five."

Emma laughed, her eyes still watery. "These are amazing. I mean, the pictures are just gorgeous. And to see each year…" She ran her hand over a snowman ornament, revealing a bundled up Henry smiling proudly beside a snowman that was bigger than him.

When she came across an ornament that showed Henry and Regina in front of a fireplace, grinning happily with Henry's head resting on top of Regina's, she felt her heart clench again.

"That was taken two Christmases ago." Regina nodded to the ornament and although she said nothing more, Emma know what went at the end of the statement. _The last Christmas we were happy. The last Christmas before you showed up and everything went to hell._

"And this is last years." It was of Henry by the Christmas tree – the very Christmas tree they were now decorating – and there was a smile on his face. But Emma could see the change from all the other years. With the idea of fairy tales and magic being real, somehow the magic of Christmas had gotten lost and wasn't reflected in Henry's eyes any more.

Emma turned to look at Regina, to try to find the right words to say, but she was already hunched over the box, pulling more ornaments out. "Of course, in addition to the photo ornaments, I've kept –"

"Everything I ever made." Henry groaned, but there was a hint of joy in it, a sparkle of pride, a note of 'someone loves me enough to embarrass me by keeping all of these silly things'. Emma had never had the opportunity to feel that way, and suddenly she was even more grateful that Henry had found his way to Regina.

"Yeah?" She asked, turning to Regina.

"Well, maybe not everything…" Regina almost demurred.

"Everything." Henry confirmed, picking up a few of the photo ornaments to start hanging.

"May I?" Emma asked, her fingers itching to take the box back, but knowing she had no real right to.

Regina studied her for a moment before she inclined her head and handed the box back over.

"Oh." Emma murmured again as she reached back in, pulling out a crumbling salt dough ornament that at one point must have been a star. It was nearly unrecognizable now, the points all gone, but scrawled across the back of it in large, childish letters was Henry's name as he must have printed it in kindergarten. "It's beautiful." She whispered.

Henry rolled his eyes, but Regina for her part nodded in understanding before pulling out a large round ornament that had a small white handprint on it. Each of the fingers had been painted to look like a snowman. "Look how tiny his handprint was."

"Mmm. And here's his thumbprint reindeer." Regina held out another ornament, this time decorated with brown thumbprints that had been made into reindeer.

"Oh, wow." She said again, unable to find any other words to express her feelings.

The tears were back again and this time Emma didn't bother hiding them. Instead, she let them fall silently as she and Regina continued going through the box, pulling out lopsided gingerbread shapes, reindeer made from old light bulbs and pipe cleaners, old cut up Christmas card pictures decorated with glitter, cotton ball snowmen, pasta angels, beaded candy canes, popsicle stick Christmas trees, construction paper Santa's, and hand painted ornaments.

With each ornament she held, Emma felt like she was being given back a piece of Henry's childhood that she had missed. It certainly wasn't enough to make up for everything she'd given up, but it was a glimpse that she never imagined she'd have.

"Thank you," she whispered to Regina, knowing that the words weren't nearly enough, but they were all that she had. Regina may have been the Evil Queen, but she was an Evil Queen that had saved and loved and cherished every single ornament her child had ever made, and for that reason alone Emma decided she deserved redemption.

"You're welcome," Regina replied just as quietly, her eyes still locked on Emma's.

A charge went through the air as they stared at one another, but Henry broke it. "Is that all of them? Where are the apples?"

"Apples?" Emma blinked.

"Don't worry, dear. They aren't real." Regina pulled out a few decorative apple ornaments and somehow the sight of them on top of all the emotions she was dealing with made Emma laugh out loud rather hysterically.

"You have apple ornaments? Oh god. Of course you have apple ornaments!"

Somehow, it was the perfect reaction. Henry, who had been looking slightly stricken after actually seeing Regina holding the apple ornaments, was now chuckling in amusement too.

Regina huffed at them, but it wasn't nearly as annoyed as it could've been. "When you two are done with your little laugh attack, feel free to help me decorate the tree."

Mother and son straightened up and tried to calm down, each muttering "sorry" under their breaths. Henry quickly turned back to keep placing the ornaments. Emma picked up one of Henry's hand made ornaments, but paused before the tree.

"What's wrong?" Henry asked as he continued to place ornaments.

"Oh, uh, nothing." She said, still staring at the tree as though she was afraid it would explode.

"Really, Miss Swan, I know you may think I'm anal, but just hang the decorations. It isn't rocket science." Regina said as she continued to hang the ornaments carefully on the tree.

Emma's hands shook as she reached forward, slipping the ribbon over the branch and then quickly stepping away, watching as the ornament swung back and forth for a few moments before settling. "Huh." She said softly, turning back to the table to pick up another one.

"Honestly." Regina sighed at her slow pace. "You'd think this was your first time decorating a tree."

Emma froze, her hand halfway to a branch.

"Wait. Emma?" Henry looked at her with questioning eyes.

She just shrugged. "I told you that I wasn't the best at decorating Christmas trees."

"But you've _never _done it before?"

Emma turned back to the coffee table, feeling incredibly uncomfortable as she now had Henry and Regina's undivided attention. "I mean, it's not like I never had a Christmas tree or anything. There were ones in some of my foster homes and the group homes and stuff. Just… they didn't let me anywhere near them. And after I got out…"

"When you have no one to celebrate with, there's not a lot of use in celebrating." Henry repeated what she had told him in the attic. She heard Regina draw in a rather shaky breath.

"Yeah." She nodded, still keeping her eyes turned to the coffee table.

"Well, then, I suppose it's up to us to teach you the proper tree trimming etiquette." Regina said, gently touching her back for a moment before removing her hand and picking up another ornament. "You obviously need to handle the ornaments with care, but you don't need to take an hour to hang each one."

The little dig was welcome and Emma finally straightened up and turned around, a new ornament in hand.

"Glass ones go towards the bottom, that way if they fall, they'll be less likely to break." Henry demonstrated by placing one towards the bottom of the tree.

"If you have a rather large ornament, you don't want to put another large one right beside it. It will crowd them. Space them out instead and then add smaller ornaments as needed to fill the gaps."

"Makes sense." Emma nodded before hanging her ornament. She tried not to care, but was quite pleased when both Henry and Regina nodded at her placement choice.

"Always use white lights. Never tinsel." Henry smirked, tossing Regina a look.

Emma thought of the multicolored tree that was covered in tinsel sitting in the Charming's living room. "Something tells me that's just your mother's rule."

Regina raised one brow. "Never popcorn, either."

"Hey! I saw it in a movie once, okay?" Emma defended as she placed the ornament with the photo of Henry and Regina front and center on the tree. "And it would've been fine if it wasn't so damned hard to string."

"Perhaps next year we will have to try it and see, then." Regina said offhandedly, then seemed to freeze for a second when she realized the implication of what she'd said. Henry too seemed unsure as to how to respond.

"Guess I'll have to brush up on my popcorn stringing skills between now and then." Emma grinned as she placed the final ornament. "What do you think? About the tree?" She clarified when Regina hadn't answered.

"Oh." She blinked and took it in. "I think we need to see it with the lights on."

"On it!" Henry ran over to turn off the lights and then plugged in the cord. The tree light up and Emma gasped.

"It's gorgeous." She whispered, watching as the glow from the fire cast patterns over it, mixing with the little lights to make it shine beautifully.

"Mom," Henry grabbed Regina's hand, "what about the star?"

"Oh, how could we forget that? Go ahead and get it, Henry."

"Most important rule of all," Henry said as he came back to stand beside Emma, "you have to have a star for on top."

"Why don't you do the honors, Miss Swan?"

"Wh - really? Me?"

"Well, we can't have you doing it incorrectly in the future. This way we'll be here to supervise."

"O-okay." Emma carefully took the star from Henry. It was also handmade - popsicle sticks glued in a star formation and coated in glitter. She stretched up on her tip toes and carefully situated it on the very top of the tree.

"Perfect!" Henry clapped happily.

"Nicely done." Regina gave her a small smile that looked all the more dazzling in the glow of the tree.

"Thanks." She smiled back and they settled into a peaceful silence, just standing together looking at the tree, until it was broken by the timer from the kitchen.

"And that will be dinner."

"Perfect timing!" Henry grinned and when Emma caught sight of the mantle clock showing five minutes until five she knew just how true that statement was.

* * *

Dinner was incredible. Emma could easily see why it was Henry's favorite. It was honestly the best meal she had ever eaten - and when she thought of her ridiculous turkey TV dinners sitting in her freezer she nearly cringed.

The turkey was juicy and so well prepared it practically melted in her mouth. The stuffing was moist and full of flavor. The mashed potatoes were mashed to fluffy perfection and the gravy that she smothered everything in was just right in consistency. The green bean casserole - which she usually turned her nose up at - was a revelation and even the corn, squash, and lima beans were so beautifully prepared that she took them without complaint and ate them with nothing but praise. She went back for seconds and didn't feel guilty about it at all, even as she glanced around the kitchen, hoping to catch sight of some Tupperware that she could use to pack up leftovers.

The conversation was also great. Feeling comfortable with his two mothers and enlivened by the Christmas spirit, Henry spent the better portion of the meal filling in Regina on everything that had been happening in his life since moving in with Emma. He regaled them with his Christmas wish list and spoke at length about his horse. Emma worried that it would be a sore subject with Regina, but instead, it made the mayor's eyes light up. Henry complained that he still wasn't allowed to ride the horse yet, and Regina offered to give him a few lessons if Emma didn't mind. Emma readily agreed, if only to keep the smiles on both their faces, but turned down the offer to teach her as well. She would just watch, thank you very much.

As the conversation began to wane, Regina brought out dessert - pumpkin pie. Emma and Henry both breathed a little easier upon seeing that it wasn't apple and then promptly dug into it as well. The crust was flaky and perfect and Emma thought that she could easily eat only this pie for the rest of her life. After they'd eaten their fill, Regina chased them from the kitchen, refusing to allow either one to help with the cleanup, even after Emma offered.

"Alright, kid, if she won't let us help in the kitchen, then we better finish up in here." Emma groaned, her body protesting and wanting nothing more than to lay down on the couch and sleep.

"Uh, can't we just relax instead?"

"No can do. Let's finish this and then we can relax." She said, leaning down to the remaining boxes.

* * *

When Regina finally emerged from the kitchen, it was to find Emma and Henry sprawled out on the couch, the room fully decorated and all traces of the boxes gone.

"Oh." She breathed, taking in the decorations.

Emma and Henry stirred from their spots. "We finished the decorating." Emma offered with a lazy smile. "It's mainly just this room because there wasn't a whole lot to work with." Her smile faded a bit as she took in the room. "Sorry it's not professionally done."

"It's better." Regina said softly, her eyes going over the room and then falling on Henry.

"Well," Emma rubbed her hands over her jean clad thighs. "I should get going."

"Oh, but -" Regina started to protest, panic rising in her chest at the thought of Henry going with Emma, leaving her alone in the giant house again.

"Merry Christmas, kid." Emma smiled, opening her arms and hugging Henry before dropping a kiss to his head. "Be good, okay? And don't stay up too late or Santa won't come."

"Okay, Emma."

"Wh-what?" Regina frowned, confused by Emma's words.

"Oh. I guess I should've asked. I mean, I just assumed but - can Henry stay with you tonight?"

Regina's eyes blinked rapidly, trying to push back the tears that were quickly threatening to fall. "Of course. Of course he can. I'd love that. But -" She looked between Emma and Henry, confused.

Henry grinned. "It was Emma's idea."

"It was my idea to come here." Emma corrected. "But it was Henry's idea to stay. He wants to spend Christmas with you."

"And what will you do?" Regina asked when she finally regained her voice.

"Oh. You know, just… go back to the apartment and… I don't know. I'm sure I can find 'It's A Wonderful Life' on TV or something."

Henry looked slightly stricken at those words and Regina couldn't blame him. The way Emma said it, the nonchalance gave another look into the way Emma had always celebrated the holidays and Regina felt her heart clench at the thought of her sitting home alone. She knew what that felt like and Emma - the Savior - had saved her once again tonight by chasing away the darkness and the loneliness.

"I'm quite sure that my television will also be showing 'It's A Wonderful Life.'" Regina remarked. "Why don't you stay and watch it with Henry and I? I'll make us some cocoa and afterwards… well, I do have a guest bedroom or two."

Emma blinked, surprise written across her face.

"Really, Mom?" Henry asked before Emma could.

Regina reached out and gently ruffled his hair before turning her attention back to Henry. "You said it yourself, Miss Swan. No one deserves to spend Christmas alone."

"Emma." Emma replied as Henry flung his arms around Regina's waist. "I think you can call me Emma."

"Emma." Regina said the name softly. "Henry, why don't you see if you can find the movie on one of the channels, while I go get us some cocoa?"

"Okay!" Henry agreed, bouncing over to the television to search for the movie.

Emma moved to follow Regina back into the kitchen. "I can help you if…" She stopped suddenly in the doorway.

Regina turned back to see why Emma had stopped speaking and her line of vision caught Emma's. Her eyes widened as her mouth suddenly went dry. "Did you?"

"No!" Emma gasped.

Henry looked over at them and a mischievous grin spread across his face. "It's tradition, you know. When you're under the mistletoe, you have to kiss."

"Henry?" Regina questioned, her voice a full octave higher than normal.

Emma looked at Henry and then turned back to Regina. "He's right. It is tradition." She grinned and then leaned over, placing a gentle kiss on Regina's cheek, the corners of their mouths just barely touching.

"Merry Christmas, Regina." She whispered when she pulled away.

Regina blinked when Emma pulled away. "I - yes."

Emma smiled. "You need help with the cocoa?"

"No. No. I can - no." Regina shook her head and then quickly turned and headed for the kitchen.

"Trouble maker." Emma scolded Henry as she sank into the couch and threw an arm around him. He just grinned.

When Regina came back from the kitchen, she looked as regal and put together as ever. The only thing that gave her away was the slight shaking of the tray. Emma reached out to steady it. "Hey. It's okay." She offered quietly, then a little louder, "Henry found the movie. It's just getting started."

"Good." Regina nodded, sitting down on the other side of Henry.

It didn't take long at all for Henry to slump against her shoulder. She looked over to meet Emma's gaze and carefully they laid the boy out so his head was resting in Regina's lap and his feet - devoid of shoes after some quick work by Emma - were in Emma's.

With the Christmas tree shining and the fire creating warmth, Regina felt herself truly relax. Her fingers threaded slowly through Henry's hair and as she looked over and caught Emma's eyes again, a slow smile spread across her face to match the one of Emma's. "It's A Wonderful Life" played on and Regina couldn't help but feel that for the first time in a very, very long time, the sentiment rang true.


End file.
